Stanford University Memorial Church. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Today the Ninth Circuit held that FLSA collective actions and state law class actions are not inherently incompatible. Bush v. Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc., No. 11-16892, __ F.3d __ (9th Cir. Apr. 12, 2013). The district court dismissed warehouse workers’ claims for unpaid wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act and Nevada state law. The Ninth Circuit reversed the dismissal of state law claims on the basis that they would be certified using different class certification procedures than the federal wage-and-hour claims. In agreeing with other circuits, the panel held that a FLSA collective action and a state law class action are not inherently incompatible as a matter of law even though plaintiffs must opt into a collective action under the FLSA but must opt out of a class action under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23.
You can read more about the ruling here.
Judges
Before: Jerome Farris, Sidney R. Thomas, and N. Randy Smith, Circuit Judges. Opinion by Judge Thomas.
The case was argued and submitted at Stanford Law School.
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